


...Part of the Family...

by IndigoBloom



Category: Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Game: Resident Evil 7, Outlast 2, Outlast: Whistleblower, Until Dawn - Freeform, outlast - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-07-23 06:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16153823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoBloom/pseuds/IndigoBloom
Summary: Driving home in the rain, Ophelia didn't expect to be caught up in a corporation war so dangerous it has the fate of the natural world hanging in the balance. Can she survive everything that's thrown at her, and keep a steady relationship at the same time?





	1. When the Storm Ends...

My car sputters to a stop right at an old dirt road.

“Oh, come on!” I yell, hitting my dashboard, “It’s  _ pourin’  _ outside! I don’t wanna’ walk in that!”

I look out the window of my broke down car just as thunder rolls across the sky. I brace myself for the rain, and open the door. I take my keys with me, just in case I can get it fixed. I wade through puddles that are knee deep. My shoes and socks are absolutely soaked.

“I shouldn’t have worn these shorts,” I mutter to myself, pulling down on my jean booty-shorts. I follow the road to a very large gate, with a huge house a little bit away. I find the call button, and I press it. I wait for someone to answer. I stand under a tree, and wipe rain out of my eyes.

“Hello?” I hear a male voice over the speaker.

“Um, hi,” I say, leaning toward it.

“What do you want?” the man says.

“My car broke down on the side of the road,” I say, starting to shiver, “I was just wonderin’ if I could use your phone to call a tow company,”

“I’ll come unlock the gate for you,” the man says, “Our main generator was struck by lightnin’,”

“Okay,” I say, and I stand under the tree again.

A couple of minutes later, a man in a yellow shirt and tan cargo pants walks up to the gate, not even phased by the rain.

I step out from under the tree, and wave slightly.

He opens the gate, and steps aside.

“Thank you,” I say as I pass him.

He closes the gate, and locks it.

“Let’s get you inside,” he says, and puts his hand on my shoulder.

“My name’s Jack, by the way,” he says, “Jack Baker,”

“Ophelia,” I say.

“Nice to meet you,”

He leads me to a garage that’s already open, and up into the house.

“Marguerite!” he shouts.

A slightly hunched woman with wispy, dark brown hair tied in a ponytail, walks into the hall, wafting an amazing smell. Her face goes from confusion to worry in a matter of two seconds.

“Oh, my goodness,” she says, walking up to me and taking my hands, “You’re soaked to the bone, aren’t ya?”

I smile, glad to have found a kind family.

“Here, let’s get you some dry clothing,” she says, leading me to the laundry room.

There was already a person in there, sitting on top of the dryer, typing on a laptop. It’s a guy, about my age (which is 25), in a dark green hoodie that has yellow letters, “LCS”, on it. He has dark eyes, possibly blue, possibly brown. His hair is obviously blonde, but shaved down. He’s wearing the same kind of pants as Jack, but isn’t wearing any shoes, exposing his white socks.

“Lucas,” Marguerite says, “could I get to the dryer?”

Lucas slides off of the dryer, standing about half a head taller than Marguerite. He stares at me, and doesn’t blink.

“Here,” Marguerite says, shuffling through clothing in the dryer, “we could find some old pants of Lucas’...or maybe Zoe’s...Lucas, dear?”

“Yeah?” Lucas says, not breaking eye-contact with me.

“Do you think you could spare a sweatshirt?” she says.

“Does it matter if it’s stained?” Lucas says, starting to creep me out with the unblinking stare.

“Depends on with what,” I say, staring back at him. I raise an eyebrow.

He opens his eyes slightly wider, and furrows his brow, like it surprised him that I could speak. He walks out of the room, and closes the door behind him.

“Don’t worry ‘bout Lucas,” Marguerite says, handing me a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, “He just likes to scare people. The jeans are slightly big, but the shirt should fit you. Here, let’s go run a bath for you, and let your undergarments dry,”

With the last comment, she winks.

I giggle slightly, and so does she.

She leads me upstairs to the bathroom. I glance down the hall, and see Lucas standing near the other end, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Nearer to us, there’s a sweatshirt, like the one he’s wearing, except slightly faded, folded and sitting on the floor.

I grab the sweatshirt, and stand up straight. I stare down the hall at him, and he stares back. I just turn around and enter the bathroom, which is already filled with steam.

“There,” Marguerite says, swishing her hand in the foamy water in the bathtub, “It’s perfectly warm, good for after getting soaked in the rain,”

I smile at her, and she leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I go to the door, and lock it from this side. I take a nice long bath, and change into the other clothing. As I expected, the pants are a bit baggy, but they fit well around the waist. I put the shirt on, and grab the sweatshirt. I go downstairs, and into the dining room.

“Well,” I say, holding my socks and shoes up, “These are ruined,”

I look at my shoes. The old pair of Chuck Taylors are supposed to be white, but now look more dirt brown. The sole of one of them is hanging by basically a thread. My socks look like pieces of three week old jerky.

“Oh,” Jack says, “It’s nothin’ a little Duct Tape can’t fix,”

I laugh a bit, but then I notice Lucas staring at me...again.

“Umm...Hello?” I say, staring back at him.

He just rolls his eyes.

Another person walks up to me, and I realize I haven’t seen her before. She’s wearing a white t-shirt and skinny jeans. She has really short, light-brown hair.

“My name’s Zoe,” she says, and she extends her hand.

I shake it, and say, “Ophelia,”. I see Lucas’ eyes open a bit wider.

“That’s an interestin’ name,” he says, “Where’re you from?”

“New Orleans,” I say.

“What’re you doin’ all the way out here?” Jack says.

“I  _ was  _ driving home, but the rain caught me by surprise,” I say, “And just as I reached the dirt road that led to your gate, my car broke down,”

“Mmm…” Marguerite says, carrying in a crock pot of amazing smells, “You’re going to have to stay until the rain stops,”

I sit down at the table, and she opens the pot.

“Chicken-pot-pie,” she says, “Perfect for a day like this,”

I eat two plates of it, and I set up a “bed” on the couch in the living room. I’m laying down, listening to the sound of the rain while hacking a website on my phone, when I feel someone sit at my feet.

“Are you hacking?” Lucas says.

I smile. “Nosey little boy, aren’t you?” I say.

“I asked you a question first,” he says.

“Yes,” I say, “Do you have someone you’d like me to hack?”

“Not really, I was just curious,”

I turn my phone off, put it in the pocket of my sweatshirt, and cross my arms, staring at him.

He turns sideways, facing toward me, resting his feet on the arm of the couch behind my head.

“You’re sitting on my feet, you know,” I say, giggling.

“I know,” he says.

I smile.

We sit like this for a bit, and somehow I fall asleep. The next thing I know, I wake, Lucas sitting on the ground at my feet, snoring.

Little did I know that my first night here was my last normal night for three years…


	2. The Arrival of Hell...

Later in the afternoon the next day, Jack brought back an almost unconscious woman. This was after he, Lucas and I found a large tanker ship washed up in the bayou.  “I put her in the trailer,” he says as he puts his rain-boots back on, heading out one more time.

Zoe is watching the news, and Marguerite is in the kitchen.

I’m sitting at the table, using Lucas’ laptop to hack, but making sure neither Jack or Marguerite knows.

_ Bing.  _ My Email goes off, which surprises me. No one ever Emails me.

Lucas, who was standing in the kitchen doorway, looks up from his phone. He raises an eyebrow, then looks back down.

I open and read the Email.

_ “Ophelia,  _

_ We know where you are, and we need to warn you. There’s something big coming your way, and if you want to save Lucas and yourself, you will listen to us. _

_ We need your and Lucas’ skills to keep a very important asset in Louisiana, and in check. _

_ If the Bakers find a young girl with dark hair and a dark dress, along with a woman with long, light brown hair, who seems to be her mother, be prepared for the worst. _

_ Do we have a deal? _

_ ~The Connections” _

I look up at Lucas, tears almost in my eyes. “Um...Lucas?” I ask.

He looks up at me.

I beckon him over, and point at the screen.

He walks over to me, leans over my right shoulder, and reads the Email.  As he reads, I can see the color drain out of his face. His eyes widen, and he looks like he’s about to cry. “...but,” he says “we already found the woman. Doesn’t that mean…”. He doesn’t get to finish his thought.

“Marguerite,” we hear Jack say, “Open up. I found another one,”

I stand up, and close up the laptop, and start to walk out of the room. “I’m going to go put this back,” I mutter. I see Jack walk in with a soaked girl with dark hair in a dark dress.  My mouth goes dry as a desert.  _ It’s the girl, _ I think. I go up to Lucas’ room, use the remote for the ladder to the upper room, and put the laptop back on the desk. When I go back down, and retract the ladder, I remove the button from the remote.  _ I’ll tell Lucas,  _ I think,  _ or just tell him where I hid it.  _ I go to the bathroom at the end of the hall, and put it in a drawer. I then lock it with a skeleton key I found. I go downstairs, and pass Jack coming up the stairs. “Where are you puttin’ her?” I ask, just out of curiosity.

“In Lucas’ old room,” he says.

I nod, and walk downstairs.

Lucas is now sitting at the table, still on his phone.

“I’ll Email them back later,” I whisper to him.

He only nods.

I pull a chair up next to him, and lean against him, head on his shoulder.

He glances at me out of the corner of his eye, and then rolls his eyes.

Suddenly, the lights go out.

I can feel Lucas jump. He turns the light on his phone on, and shines it at me.   “That would be the other generator,” Lucas says.

“Could you get that out of my eyes?” I say, squinting.

He chuckles. He then shines the light to where Marguerite is.  “Ma’?” Lucas asks, since Marguerite stopped in her tracks as soon as the lights went out.

Suddenly, with no warning, the little girl appears at the door, and the table and chairs fly across the room, with me and Lucas still sitting there.

I’m slammed against the wall, and I hit my head on the window sill. I black out, but not even two minutes later, I’m woken by Zoe.

“Phil,” she’s says. That’s what Zoe and Lucas started calling me. “What happened?” she asks.

“The table just... _ flew _ , like it was thrown,” I say, rubbing where my head hit the sill. I look over to see Lucas lying on his face on the ground, out cold.

“What are we going to do?” Zoe asks, “It’s something about that girl,”

“We should get to the trailer,” I say, “I’ll get Lucas, and you can get the dog head key from his stuff. It should be in a red box on the veranda,”

Zoe nods at me, and leaves the room.

I crouch down next to Lucas, and grab his shoulder. “Lucas,” I say, shaking him, trying to rouse him even a little, “Lucas, get up,”

He slowly shakes his head, and turns himself over onto his back. “What the hell just happened?” he asks, eyes finally opening, and getting wider by the second, “Did a teleportin’ little girl just psychically throw the table at us?”

I chuckle darkly. “I couldn’t have explained it any better myself,”

We then hear a struggle upstairs, shouts from Jack, and almost insane screeches from Marguerite.

Zoe rushes past the door, and down to the garage.

I help Lucas stand up, as Zoe walks past in the other direction, going up the stairs.

We then hear Jack yelling at Zoe, and her yelling back, terrified.

“When I ask for rope, I expect to get rope!” Jack exclaims.

Lucas and I walk upstairs, wearily. Jack has Zoe cornered in the rec room.

“What’s he doin’?” Lucas whispers to me. He’s standing behind me, while I’m looking around the corner.

“He’s tryin’ to break down the door to the rec room,” I whisper back, “She must have barricaded it,”

Jack finally gets through the door, and a few seconds later, he walks out of the room, and turns our direction. He locks eyes with me for only a second before I pull my head back around the corner, but I know that we’re fucked.

“Did he see you?” Lucas asks.

“I sure did,” Jack says as he rounds the corner. He shoves me to the side, against the wall, and tries to grab Lucas.

Lucas tries to avoid him, but Jack knocks him to the ground with a well placed punch to the ribs, and starts dragging him away by his foot.

“Now, don’t you move a muscle, Ophelia,” Jack says as he drags Lucas, “Evie wants to see you next,”

Lucas is kicking and screaming as Jack drags him down the hall to his old room.

“Come on, Lucas,” Jack says, “Evie wants you to be her big brother…”

I slide my back down the wall to sit on the floor, panting. I hear someone walking toward me, and I raise a fist, ready for either Jack, Evie, or Marguerite. But it isn’t any of them. It’s Zoe.

“Hey,” she says, “It’s just me. No need to throw punches,”. She holds out a red dog head motif. “Thanks for the hint,” she says, “now we can get to the trailer,”

“You can go,” I say, “They took Lucas, and I ain’t goin’ nowhere without him,”

She raises an eyebrow, but then the look of realization flashes on her face. “You have a crush on him,” she says, “don’t you?”

I turn away from her, knowing that she sees me blushing.

She puts her hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine,” she says, “stay if you want. I’m getting the hell out of here,”

I nod.

She stands up, and pulls me to my feet. She gives me a half-hearted smile, and walks toward the door to the main area of the house.

I stay where I am, waiting for Jack to return for me.


	3. ...Three Years Later...

Laying on the bed in a guest room in the main house, staring up at the ceiling, my stomach actually growls for food for the first time in a year. But not Marguerite’s new way of “cooking”. Even thinking of it makes me want to barf. I want some  _ real _ food. Some New England Clam Chowder, or Pizza, or a Gyro, or a BLT, or all of them at once. My stomach growls louder as I think of all the foods I miss, and took for granted.  _ Just a few more days, _ I think to myself,  _ A few more days I have to suffer this. Then, The Connections will come get me and Lucas. _

Then, someone knocks on my door.

I sit up in the bed, and Lucas opens the door.

“Diner time,” he says, almost scrunching his nose in disgust, “Ma and Pa won’t make you eat  _ too _ much, since you’re feeling under the weather. But at least try to eat  _ some _ ,”

“I know,” I say, standing up, “we have an act to keep up,”. I walk over to the closet, and grab a belt with a machete in a seath. I strap the belt on my jeans, and grab the sweatshirt I got my first night here. I’m barefoot, but I never go outside. I stare at myself in the mirror, and I can hardly recognize the scraggly young woman staring back.

Lucas walks up behind me and hugs me, arms wrapped around my waist. He buries his face in my neck, resting his head on my shoulder. “Just a few more days,” he says, “We can do this for a few more days,”

I smile.

“And,” he says, “those suppressants are working just fine. Evie can still project herself to us, but she can’t control us. She doesn’t suspect a thing,”

I smile again.

We stand like this for a bit, then Lucas lets go of me, and walks toward the door. He grabs my hand, and pulls me along. When we get downstairs, I see one extra person at the table.

I raise an eyebrow at Lucas, and he mouths “I’ll explain later,”

The person is sitting in a chair, hands tied to the arms. He’s unconscious. He’s wearing a codex on his left wrist, and that hand looks like it was stapled back on.

I sit between Jack and Lucas, and I hook my right foot around Lucas’ left ankle.

He puts his hand on my knee, and squeezes lightly.

Marguerite puts plates of steaming unidentifiable meats on the table.

“I’m glad you could join us tonight, Ophelia,” She says, putting a plate of small pieces of said meat in front of me, “I was quite worried,”

“I’m feeling better now, Mama,” I say, keeping with the “family” thing. Everyone expects me and Lucas to get married, so I’m basically part of the family.

“You don’t have to eat all of it,” Jack says, starting on his own pile of meat-like-substance, “but you do have to eat,”

Lucas throws a piece of his meat at the unconscious man.

“Lucas,” Marguerite says, “Don’t throw the food,”

Lucas just scoffs.

I can feel annoyance radiating off of Jack.

A little bit later, the man wakes up as Lucas throws another piece of meat at him. The man looks around frantically, and tries to get out of the ropes, but to no avail.

Marguerite chuckles lightly, and places another plate in front of him.

I grab a piece of meat that looks like either a boneless big toe, or a boneless chicken wing. I hope to god that it’s the latter, but knowing Marguerite, it’s probably not. I start to nibble on it, noting that it does taste like chicken, but has the consistency of venison.

“Time for supper, dear,” she says to the man, like he’s another part of the family. “Eat it,” she continues, “It’s good,”

“Dumb son of a bitch wouldn’t know good if it hit ‘im!” Lucas says, and throws the man’s entire plate in the man’s face.

At the breaking point of annoyance, Jack stands up, grabs  _ my _ machete from  _ my _ belt (rude), grabs Lucas’ arm, and slams it on the table in front of me, on top of my plate. With a lot of effort, Jack cuts Lucas’ forearm in half.

“Oh, goddammit, old man!” Lucas cries, “Not again!”

I look back down at my plate, now covered in my boyfriend’s blood. I push it away from me slightly.  _ I’m not eating that now,  _  I think to myself.

Jack then, still holding  _ my _ machete, walks around the table, to the man. He picks up a spoon, and tries to force feed the man, while saying something, but I’m not paying attention to that.

I’m trying my best not to throw up everywhere, since I’m still staring at Lucas’ dismembered arm.

The man struggles and eventually knocks the spoon out of Jack’s hand.

“Awe, shit!” Marguerite yells, upset, “He ain’t eating it!”

She proceeds to freak out, and storms out of the room.

Again, Jack seems annoyed, so he takes  _ my _ machete and starts to pry at the man’s teeth.

But then, a phone rings somewhere deeper in the house.

Jack stops, walks back around the table, places the machete in front of me, and he grabs Lucas’ shoulder, pulling him out of his seat. “Now, don’t you go nowhere,” Jack says to the man, “I ain’t done with you,”

I stay seated, one seat away from Evie’s ageing body, and two away from the new man.

He just stares at me, possibly afraid.

I grab the machete, stand up, and walk around the table to him. I cut the ropes around his wrists and ankles.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Just makin’ sure my Papa’s prey has room to run,” I say.

“He’s not your father, you know,” he says, “He’s not himself anymore,”

I start to laugh. “He ain’t even my biological father,” I say, “he’s more my ‘hopefully-in-the-future-father-in-law’,”. As I say this, my face heats up.

The man inspects me, possibly to catch a tell to see if I’m lying. “What’s your name?” he asks, standing up.

“Ophelia,” I say.

“I’m Ethan. Ethan Winters,” he says.

I give a small gasp. “So that’s why you’re so important,” I say, glancing at Evie.

“Yeah,” he says, “Mia’s my wife, and I’m not leaving this hell hole without her,”

I give a slight, sideways smile, and chuckle. I put the machete to his throat. “I’ll  _ cut _ you a deal,” I say, “bring me any form of actual, edible, food, and I  _ may  _ feel compelled to give you some form of hint,”. I smile a bit wider, copying what I’ve seen Lucas, Jack and Marguerite do as they talk to Mia.

Ethan swallows, eyes flicking from the machete to my eyes. He nods slowly.

“Good!” I say, and I turn to the door. But then I stop. “Oh,” I say, “One more thing. I was also talking to you to distract you. Papa will be along soon,”. I laugh as I walk out of the room. I walk over to the broken stairs, grab the bottom-most unbroken stair, and pull myself up. I turn around to see Ethan looking at me with amazement. I walk up the stairs a bit, and climb over the rail, into the hall.


	4. Revealing Secrets...

I’m sitting in the main area of the house, legs hanging off the edge of a balcony. My legs are between two rungs of the bannister. I’ve been sitting here for a while, and Ethan still hasn’t collected all of the dog head motifs. He’s off exploring another part of the house somewhere.

Suddenly, Ethan passes below me, just as Jack exits a door to my right.

“Ah, Ophelia!” he says, “You haven’t seen a  _ rat _ named  _ Ethan _ recently?”

My eyes flick to where Ethan is chrouched in the shadows, but only for a second. I don’t want to give him away, even if he thinks Lucas and I are as crazy as Jack and Marguerite. “No,” I say, “But if I did, I’d catch ‘im, so you can kill him yourself,”

Jack gives a chuckle, and pats my shoulder. “I couldn’t think of a finer daughter-in-law,” he says, “Let’s just hope Lucas is man enough to make an honest woman of you,”

I smile, just because the only sane thing Jack and Marguerite can talk about are me and Lucas getting married.

He walks behind me, and down the stairs. He walks passed Ethan, still crouched in shadows, and he doesn’t notice him.  Jack walks out of this section of the house.

Ethan stands up, and goes straight for the door to the outside.

I stand up, and casually walk after him, observing him from a distance. 

He puts the last two of the three dog heads into the door.

I clap for him. A slow, sarcastic clap

He turns around, and raises an eyebrow.

“An hour and a half,” I say, still clapping, “gone any slower, and we’d all be dead!”

He glares at me, turns around, and opens the door. He stands aside, holding the door open for me. “After you,” he says.

“Why, such a gentleman,” I say, going through the door. I step out onto the porch, and take a deep breath of fresh air. “There’s nothing like a summer night in Louisiana,” I mutter, smiling to myself.

Ethan starts to walk past me, but then he stops. He takes off his backpack, reaches inside, and pulls out a small tupperware. “Here,” he says, handing it to me, “I found this,”

I grab it, and open it, a feeling of pure joy blossoming in my chest. It’s two pieces of roasted chicken, probably almost thrown out after Marguerite started her new culinary venture. I grab one, and eat it slowly, savoring it, since it’s my first taste of real food in years. I save the other piece for Lucas. “I suppose you want a hint, huh?” I ask.

“Um, yea, I kind of do,” Ethan says.

I think for a bit, trying to see what I could tell him. “Have you been to Lucas’ old room?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

“Well, there’s a room above it. You need to find the remote to the ladder, but for me to tell you where that is, you’ll need to find me more food,”

“But there were two legs there,” he protests, “doesn’t that mean I get two hints?”

“One’s for me, one’s for Lucas,” I say, “It would be selfish of me not to share with my boyfriend,”

Ethan raises an eyebrow again. “What do you see in him?” he asks, coming back up onto the porch.

I sigh. “You wouldn’t understand,” I say, “His family took me in, and they all were very nice. As for why Lucas...I guess, our intellects and differences from other people are what we like about each other. Yes, he makes fun of me, but I tease him back. What’s a relationship without some bumps?”

Ethan just nods. “Why are you helping me, anyway?” he asks. 

“That’s complicated as well,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck, “You see, I’m only helping you ‘cause I was hired to. Lucas and I aren’t as insane as Jack and Marguerite. We’re not even under Evie’s control. She can see us, and project herself to us, but she can’t control us. We’ve been spying on the happenings here for a company. Well, technically a middle-man company. Lucas has even done some research for them, but now I’ve been hired by their competitor. It comes with my ‘career’,”

“What’s your career?” Ethan asks.

“I’m a hacker-for-hire,” I say, “I hack and spy for the highest bidder, and I was offered a lot of money to make sure you and Mia get out of here alive, and Evie’s destroyed,”

“Does Lucas know?” he asks.

I sigh. “He doesn’t. He wouldn’t understand,” I say.

“What would he say if he found out?” 

“He’d probably start with…” I start, but someone behind me speaks.

“Why?” I hear the person say.

I turn around, already knowing that Lucas heard everything.

“You’re a double agent?” he asks, “Why?”

“Umbrella offered me a lot of money,” I say, “I was thinking of us,”. I reach out to grab his hand, but he pulls it away. He glares at me, mouth twisted into a snarl. 

His eyes are full of both rage and confusion.

I pull my hand back, and hang my head. I then hold out the tupperware to him.

His confusion is palpable. “What ‘cha handin’ me that for?” he asks, softly.

“Ethan found it,” I say, “There were two, but I ate one. I think that he’s expecting a hint from you...if you accept it,”

He grabs it, and grabs my hand as he does. He pulls me toward him, and hugs me. He wraps his left arm around me, and rubs the back of my head with his right hand.

I bury my face into his sweatshirt, tears streaming from my eyes. It felt like I lied to my parent. I hate myself for this...basically betraying him. I grab handfuls of fabric as my hands rest on his back.

“I forgive you, Phili,” he says quietly, “Your heart was in the right place, I just wish you would have told me,”

I nod, rubbing my face against his sweatshirt. He’s much taller than me, but that means his hugs are always so much more comforting.

Ethan clears his throat.

I look up at Lucas, and I can see him roll his eyes. I giggle slightly.

“So,” Ethan says, “do I get some advice?”

“Don’t die,” Lucas says as he opens the tupperware.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Ethan says.

Lucas scoffs, and starts to eat the chicken leg.

I stifle laughter.

After Lucas finishes the chicken, he glares at Ethan.

“Did Zoe tell you about the serum?” he asks.

Ethan nods.

“Did she tell you what you need to make it?”

“A D-series arm and a D-series head,” Ethan replies.

Lucas nods.

“Did she tell you where they are?” I ask.

“The old house,” both Ethan and Lucas say in tandem. They glare at each other.

I start to laugh again.

“So,” Ethan says, “what are we going to do now?”

“Let’s get to the trailer,” I say, “to stay out of the open. We’ll figure out what to do there,”

Both Ethan and Lucas nod silently.


	5. The Old House...

We sit in the trailer, as Ethan goes through his inventory. He takes out a handful of old coins, and looks at the bird cages. It always confused me why Zoe would keep her most valuable things under lock and key like that.

He opens the cage with steroids in it, and instantly injects it in his arm.

I flinch and rub my own. I hate needles.

“Alright,” Ethan says, picking up his bag, “I’m going to go find the serum ingredients. Take care of…”

Then the phone rings.

Ethan rolls his eyes, and picks up the phone. “What do you want, Zoe?” he asks, and I can hear Lucas almost laugh. “Uh-huh,” Ethan says, “Yeah, they’re both here in the trailer. You could have told me that they’re trying to help me,”. He’s silent for a bit. “Ok, he’s right here,” and he looks and nods Lucas over to the phone.

Lucas stands up, and Ethan hands him the phone. “What’s up, Dumb-Dumb?” he says. He stays still for a bit, listening. He nods occasionally, but he doesn’t speak. Finally, eyes full of tears, he says, “But...Zoe...they’re family,” He hangs his head as he listens. He wipes his eyes off, and nods. “I understand,” he says, “It’s just...not going to be easy,” He hangs the phone up, and stares out the window for a bit. He then turns to Ethan. “We’re coming with you,” he says.

I stand up, and I stand behind him, arms crossed. I smile at Ethan, trying to look tough.

He looks between us, trying to think of something to say. “But,” he starts, “Marguerite is there. She would figure out your secret,”

“Secrets are meant to be discovered,” Lucas says.

Ethan looks at me for a while. “Alright,” he says, “but if either of you get hurt, it’s not my fault,” He starts to walk away.

“I need a gun,” Lucas says.

Ethan stops, sighs, and takes a handgun out. He hands it to Lucas, and then hands him a small pouch of handgun ammo. “You can collect your own ammo when you need it,” Ethan says. He looks at me and raises an eyebrow, almost asking if I needed a weapon.

I raise my machete, and I say, “I’m good,”

He nods, turns back around, but stops again. “Another thing,” Ethan says, turning back around and glaring at Lucas, “Wasn’t your left hand...uh, forearm...cut off at dinner tonight?”

Lucas chuckles. He raises his Left hand in front of his face, and wiggles his fingers. “Just another of Evie’s gifts,” he says, “I had to find a new sweatshirt, mind you,” 

Ethan just shakes his head, turns back around, and walks to the front gate of the Old House. I’ve only been there once or twice, but I always think it’s creepy.

Walking down the bridge covered in baby dolls, hanging on to Lucas’ arm, I can almost feel the presence of evil.

We enter the house, and Ethan stops in his tracks, staring at the other side of the house. There’s a large hole in the floor. Well I say hole, but it’s more like the floor of the house fell out.

“What are you lookin’ at?” Lucas says to Ethan.

“Can’t you see her?” Ethan says.

My heart plummets. He’s seen her. So it’s starting.

Ethan just shakes his head, and walks towards a door next to us.

-***-

We’re walking around the house, when I find a part to a weapon Lucas was building on a porch.

“Hey!” I say, “I found the burner handel,”

Lucas chuckles. “Well,” he says, tousling my hair, “Now, you need to find the second part of it, and you’ll have a ranged weapon,”

I chuckle, and hold onto the handle in one hand while still holding my machete with the other.

We wander around for a bit longer, and I do find the nozzle.

“Hell yeah!” I say as I torch a hornet’s nest that’s in our way.

I let Lucas finish it off by shooting it with his gun. “You can have it if you want,” he says.

“Awe,” I say, and I kiss him on the cheek, “thanks!”

“Anything for you, Phili,” he says, “It  _ is _ your birthday tomorrow, you know,”

I blush and smile.

Ethan is staring at us, making a weird face. “We could be attacked by Molded or Marguerite any second now,” he says, “and you two are acting as if this is a lovely vacation,”

“We said we weren’t  _ as _ crazy as Marguerite,” Lucas says, “we didn’t say that we’re  _ not _ crazy at all,”

I giggle slightly.

We find our way to the other side of the house, but we find that there’s a locked door in the way.

“Well, ain’t that just a bitch?” Lucas mutters.

I’m about to answer, when we hear a voice yell from behind us.

“Lucas!” Marguerite screams, “What’re you doin’ here?” 

Lucas shrinks back, and turns around. “I can’t do this no more, Mama,” he says, in the sanest voice I’ve ever heard him use.

Obviously, Marguerite was taken aback.

“What...you mean...you haven’t accepted her  _ gift _ ?” she hisses.

“No, I’ve done that,” he growls back, “but I can’t keep killin’ people!”

I look at him, the man who was acting so happy while cutting other mens’ fingers’ off, torturing poor Clancy and Hoffman, killing the Connection’s scientists. He was near tears.

“Ophelia,” Marguerite says, staring daggers at me, “has he drug you into this crazy notion?”

I hang my head for a moment, but then I raise my flamethrower, and aim it at her head.

Lucas puts his hand on my shoulder, but hesitates to stop me.

“You ain’t in control of me,” I say to her.

She starts to growl, and then she lets out a feral screech. 

A torrent of bugs fly at us from the door, making Ethan stumble back and bump into Lucas, which makes Lucas lose balance and pull me down as well. We all tumble down the stairs, and land on the floor, making a hole.

I land on the bottom, and I bang my head against something. Lucas lands on top of me, and Ethan on top of him.

Ethan pulls himself up almost instantly, and starts to shoot at large wasps. 

Lucas stands up, and pulls me up to my feet. I fire my flamethrower at swarms of small insects.

After a bit, the insects stop attacking, and we see Marguerite looking down on us. I also notice a ladder.

“You were probably in kahoots with Zoe and Mia, weren’t you, Lucas?” Marguerite yells.

Lucas raises his hand-gun and puts his finger on the trigger.

“Are you gonna’ shoot me, Lucas?” Marguerite asks.

Lucas’ hand begins to shake. He swallows, and adjusts his grip. He looks like he’s about to cry again.

I put my hand on his shoulder, and he lowers the gun. He grabs me and hugs me tightly, crying into my shoulder. I have to stand on my tippy-toes for this to work. I hear a shotgun shot, and Marguerite falls into the hole. The bottom starts to fill with dark water.

Lucas rushes over to the ladder, and basically tosses me to the fifth rung. I scramble up, clinging onto my flame-thrower with my teeth. Lucas follows me, and Ethan follows him.

I peer down into the hole, and it’s filled halfway with the dark, tar-like water. I look at Lucas, and he’s as pale as a ghost.

“Are you okay, Lucas?” I ask.

He looks at me, smiles weakly, and nods.

Ethan turns around, and looks at me. He’s holding a key that has a dead raven on it.

“Looks like we’ll be able to get into the rest of the house,” Ethan says.

“Let’s go then,” Lucas says.


	6. Secrets are Discovered...

“We’ll wait out here, Ethan,” Lucas says, “to make sure no one enters from this side,”

Ethan stares at him, and raises an eyebrow. “But what about what’s in there?” Ethan says, nodding to the door.

“Well,” Lucas chuckles, “you’re armed. What do you think?”

Ethan shakes his head and sighs.

I sit down on the bottom step of the stairs, and lean against one of the walls. Is Marguerite…dead?

“Well,” Ethan says, “see you in a bit,”

“If you don’t die,” Lucas replies.

I hear Ethan chuckle darkly, footsteps going up the stairs behind me, and the door unlocking. I then hear the door open and close.

Then, as if he teleported instead of actually walking, Lucas is suddenly next to me. He sits down on the same step, and puts an arm around my waist. As he holds me closer to him, I can feel his heart racing. He’s terrified. He trembles as he hugs me. “What the hell just happened?” Lucas says in a quiet, wavering voice.

“I think…I think your mom just… _ died _ ,” I whisper back.

“No,” he says, “She wasn’t my mom. She had the physical form of Marguerite Baker, but she wasn’t my mom no more,”

I nod.

“I don’t think she’s dead,” Lucas whispers, “Can you hear that?”

I listen intently. It’s the sound of rushing water, like something is draining. I stand up, and kneel down next to the edge of the hole in the floor.

The ink-black, tar-like, water is rushing out of the bottom, into an unseen hole.

I stand back up, and walk up to Lucas. “It’s just the water in the hole,” I say.

He nods, and pulls me toward him. He hugs me, face buried in my stomach. He’s still trembling.

I put my hands on his shoulders, and I just stand there, wanting to say something, but at a loss for words.

He pulls me slightly sideways, and makes me sit down on his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck.

Ethan descends the stairs, walks past us, and goes down into the hole.

“Umm…” Lucas says.

Ethan climbs out of the hole, holding Marguerite’s lantern. He walks back up the stairs, and disappears behind the crow-door again. A while later, he comes back out, looking at us like he just saw a ghost.

“I…I saw her again,” he mutters, “she…she spoke to me,”

I grind my teeth.

“We need to move faster,” I say, “What do we do now?”

“I think there’s a way to the piers through the greenhouse,” Lucas says, “We can go there, and try to find a boat,”

“That could work,” Ethan says, “but how do we get there?”

Lucas shrugs.

We then hear scuffling from the hole. Both Ethan and Lucas race over to it, but I hang back. I don’t  _ want _ to see what there’s.

“What the shit?” Ethan mutters.

“No,” Lucas says, “It…it can’t be…”

I walk over to Lucas, and put my hand on his shoulder.

“We’re going down there,” Ethan says, “That… _ thing _ …needs to die. Where do you think it went?”

“Well…the greenhouse is in that direction,” Lucas says, “Could it have gone there?”

A shiver goes down my spine. Shit…

“Lucas,” I hiss, “Shut up,”

He turns to me, an offended look on his face, then I see his eyes land on something behind me. His face drops into something like terror. “Oh!” he says, “E-Evie! We…we were…”

“Don’t lie to me, Lucas,” Evie says, “I know what your doing. Mama told me,”

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.

“It’s not nice to swear, Ophelia,” Evie says.

“I don’t care,” I say.

Ethan is still staring at us like we’re crazy. Good. She’s not projecting herself to him.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” she says, “and I don’t want you to be part of the family anymore. You don’t  _ deserve _ it,”

“But you know what we  _ do _ deserve?” I say, turning around and staring that brat in the face, “the ten billion dollars that Umbrella’s gonna’ pay us as soon as you’re dead, that’s what!”. I hear a weird stumbling sound, and I glance back at Lucas. He’s leaning against the wall, like he almost fainted. “ _ And _ ,” I continue, “we’ll save the entire world from your plans, with the help of Ethan, Mia, Zoe, whoever! We don’t care! As long as you’re  _ gone _ !”

Evie makes a disappointed face. But then it spreads into a wide smile. “Well,” she says, putting up a hand, “I’ve got a question,”

“Yeah?” I say.

“How are you going to do that if you can’t see?” she smirks. She waves her hand, and everything goes black.


	7. When The World Goes Dark...

I fall to my knees. I reach up to my face, my hands shaking, and I feel around until I find my nose. From there I try to find my eyes, and all I feel is...glass. “W-what have you done?!” I hiss.

“I just changed the composition of your eyes,” she says, “I made them into crystal! They look pretty now,”

I start to cry, and, somehow, tears do form. I guess my tear ducts weren’t affected. I fall forward, hands slapping into the ground.

“Phili!” Lucas says, “Oh, dear god!”

I hear him running up to me, and sliding on the ground next to me. I feel someone grab my shoulders, and turn me. “Lucas?” I ask, staring into darkness, “is that you?”

“Oh, my dear Lord…” he mutters, “Phili…y-your eyes…they…they’re… _ white _ ,”

I cry more, and he pulls me toward him. I feel my head rest against fabric, and I realize he pulled my head into his shoulder. “Is she still here,” I choke out.

“No,” he says, “she left,”

I hear someone walk toward us, and I flinch.

“Hey,” I hear Ethan say, “It’s just me,”.  He puts his hand on my shoulder.

I sigh. “What are we going to do?” I ask, “I can’t see. I won’t be of any use to you,”

“You need to stay near us, though,” Lucas says, “We can protect you then,”

“Yeah,” Ethan says, “as much as you can’t help us, you can’t protect yourself,”

“Where are Mia and Zoe?” I ask.

“They should be on the piers behind the barn,” Lucas says, “Which should connect to the piers near the greenhouse. That’s how we’re going to get there,”

I nod. “But,” I say, “Marguerite’s there. How am I supposed to protect myself if I can’t see?”.  There’s silence.  “Guys?” I say, “Are you still there?”

“Yeah,” Lucas says, “We’re still here, Phili. We’re just...thinkin’,”

“She could just stay  _ outside _ the greenhouse,” Ethan says, “She’d be out of the way, and safe,”

“I still have access to some tripwire traps,” Lucas says, “She can stay in the tunnel, and a little while away from her, in both directions, I can set up traps, in case Molded happen to walk down the tunnel,”

There’s more silence.

“That sounds like it could work,” Ethan says, “We can try,”

Lucas grabs onto my arm lightly, and pulls me to my feet. He leads me to God Knows Where, and we walk for a bit. He then sits me down, and then everything is silent.

“Hello?” I say, “Lucas, are you there?” Still, more silence. I start to panic. Has he left me? Is he hurt? “Lucas!” I shout. Still, no answer. I start to panic. He…he’s gone. I’m…alone. I feel like I want to scream but I know that that would be a bad idea. 

Suddenly, a little while away, but yet above me, there is the sounds of a fight raging. So, they found Marguerite. Or she found them. A little ways to my left, the sound of an explosion goes off. Then again, to my right. The deafening sounds of the skirmish going on around me is too much. 

I curl up on the ground, squeeze my knees between my elbows, and clamp my hands over my ears. I squeeze my eyes closed, but it doesn’t really matter. I can’t see anyway. 

The muffled rumbling continues for what seems like forever. Is this what it’s like to be a civilian in war? Suddenly, the noises stop. I slowly uncover my ears, and open my eyes, but all I see is still… _ black _ .

I hear someone running down the tunnel to me, and I stand up, using the wall to help me. My legs refuse to work correctly. “Hello?” I say, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me Phili,” Lucas’ voice says out of the darkness, “I’m here,”. He grabs my upper arm, and pulls me toward him. He hugs me, and I wrap my arms around him. 

I reach up, and try to find his face, and place my hands on his cheeks. “Good,” I say, “It’s really you. Why did you leave me like that?”

“I’m sorry,” he says, “but, I…there was no time to lose,”

I nod. “You’ve been cryin’,” I say.

“‘Course I’ve been!” he exclaims, “I just killed my mom,”

I nod. “So,” I say, “are we gettin’ out of here, or what?”

“I think we’re going to go with the ‘or what’ option,” Ethan’s voice suddenly appears, “The piers were destroyed by the storm,”

My chest sinks. “Then…” I say, “how are we goin’ to get out?”

“There’s the piers behind the barn,” Lucas says, “We’ll just need to go through my testing area,”

I nod.

Lucas pulls me a little, and I follow him blindly, literally. We walk for a bit, him telling me to duck or step up, or things like that. Then, he stops me. “Do you still have the key card?” he asks me.

I nod slightly, and reach for my neck with shaking hands. I fumble for a second, but eventually I find the lanyard, and pull out the key card from under my sweatshirt. 

“Here,” I say, and I hold it out.

Lucas grabs it from me, and I hear the sounds of the door unlocking. He grabs my arm again, and pulls me, leading me somewhere.

We walk for a bit, when my legs just decide to stop working.

I hold onto Luca’s arm for dear life as I stumble and fall to the ground.

“Whoa!” he says, stopping, “What happened?”

“I…I don’t know,” I say, “My legs just didn’t want to work,”

“You’re exhausted,” Ethan says, “We should rest,”

I sit down on the ground, and Lucas sits next to me. He wraps his arms around me.


	8. Escape...

“Come on,” Ethan says after no more than thirty minutes, “The faster we get out of here, the safer we’ll be,”

I nod, and Lucas pulls me to my feet. He holds me by my shoulder and elbow, leading me, stopping me occasionally, and possibly leading us to a secret exit. Suddenly, I feel the hot, muggy breeze of outside caress my face.

“Okay,” Lucas says, “We’re almost out of this hell hole,”

I nod. I just can’t seem to bring myself to say anything recently. “Hey, Lucas!” I hear someone yell from a bit away, “I’m glad you guys are okay!”

“Well, that’s partially true, Zoe,” Lucas says.

I can hear Zoe stop in front of me. Lucas lightly turns my head, so I’m apparently looking at her.

“Oh, dear god…” she mutters, “What happened?”

“Evie thought that she should punish Phili,” Lucas says, “So she…she changed the composition of her eyes. And now she can’t see,”

I can feel someone else grab my shoulders.

“You did nothin’ to deserve this,” Zoe mutters, “I’m so sorry,”

I smile half-heartedly.

She pulls me in for a hug, and I hug her back. I then feel someone else hugging us, and it takes me a minute to realize that it’s Lucas.

“Mia!” I hear Ethan exclaim, and there’s the sound of running feet. Apparently Ethan and Mia embraced.

“Alright,” Zoe says, letting go of me, “where’s the ingredients?”

Someone walks over to us, and there is the sound of rustling in a bag.

“Good,” she says, “there’s enough for two,”

“But, Zoe,” Lucas says, “there’s five of us,”

I hear Zoe sigh. “Give Ethan some of your suppressants,” she says, “that will work until we get out of here,”

“They don’t work as well as the serum,” I say, “They didn’t work for me. She still changed my eyes to crystal,”

There’s silence.

“There’s an explanation for that,” Lucas mutters, “We forgot to take ours today,”

A sinking feeling in my chest starts. How could we be so stupid?

“Ah,” I say, “and if I take mine now, it may kill me,”

“No,” Lucas says, determination filling his voice, “I ain’t gonna let that happen. We’ll take the risk,”

I smile. It’s true. We just need to get out of here, and Umbrella will do the rest. “Okay,” I say. I can feel him grab my arm, pull up my sleeve, and a small prick in the crease of my arm.

“There,” he says, “Your dose of suppressants for today,”

My head starts to spin, and my legs start to shake. A shooting pain goes through my chest everytime I breathe. My heart is hammering inside my rib-cage, as if it wants to break through and run away. My stomach churns, and suddenly lurches. I fall to my knees, retching and gagging.

“Phili!” Lucas exclaims, “Oh, god!”

I crawl to my left, feeling for the edge of the peer. I find it, and hang my head over the side, heaving. A sour, soapy taste grows in the back of my throat, and then passes through my mouth, splashing in the swamp waters below.

Someone grabs my shoulders. I can somehow tell that it’s Lucas, though. “Fucking jesus,” he mutters, “you told me that it was dangerous, and did I listen? No, and now you’re suffering for it,”

I chuckle, choke, then spit. “It’s fine,” I say, “I’m just puking my insides out. I did that the first time I tried Marguerite’s new food,”

Lucas chuckles. “I shouldn’t find that funny,” he says.

“We need to get out of here,” Zoe says.

Lucas grabs me, and he pulls me to my feet. He leads me hopefully down the pier, when a large explosion-like-thing goes off. Lucas blocks most the the shards of wood from hitting me, but I can feel a spray of splinters.

“YOUR NOT GETTIN’ AWAY THAT EASY!” a voice bellows. It’s almost recognizable as Jack’s.

Lucas grabs me and pulls me somewhere. “Jump!” he says to me, as I notice that my feet are at the edge of the pier.

“What? No!” I say, “I’ll land in the swamp!”

“Just, trust me,” he says.

I nod, and I lightly hop off of the pier. I land on something squishy and rubbery. A boat? Oh! He had me jump into a boat!

Sounds of explosions, gunfire and Jack yelling surround me.

“Here, Ethan!” Zoe yells from the pier above me, “Use this!”

Jacks yelling fades, and a light cracking sound follows.

“There,” Ethan says from above me, “But…now there’s only one serum,”

“You chose, Ethan,” Lucas says, and then someone lands softly in the boat next to me.

“Who is it?” I ask.

“It’s me, Phili,” Lucas says, “It’s me,”

I sigh, and lean on him.

“We’re nearly done,” he says, “We just need to get out,”

I nod. I then hear Ethan and Zoe having a heated discussion on the piers above me.

“…but we had a deal!” Zoe says.

“You have to understand,” Ethan says, “she’s my wife! She always comes first,”

There’s a short silence.

“Fine,” Zoe says, “You and Mia take that boat, and go where you need. Lucas, Phil and I will take this one, and go to a relative that lives nearby,”

“Oh, right,” Lucas whispers, “I forgot. Uncle Joe lives a little while away in the bayou,”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Ethan says, “I’ll send some help to find you guys, so you can get some proper treatment,”

Another short silence.

“Oh, and Ethan!” Lucas calls, “If you end up in the salt mines…be careful,”

“I’ll try,” Ethan says.

Someone lands in the boat, starts up an engine, and we start moving.

“Here,” Lucas says, probably to Zoe “You should have this,”

“I don’t need it,” she says.

“Yeah, you do,” he answers, “Look what that little bitch did to Phili!”

I lower my head, not wanting to be part of this argument.

“Fine…I’ll take it at Uncle Joe’s house,” Zoe says, “but I’ve got a question,”

“What?” Lucas says.

“How many of those do you have left?” she says.

Lucas is silent. “This is the last one,” he mutters, “and even if we had more, I wouldn’t risk giving any more to Phili,”

“But you need it,” Zoe says, “You haven’t taken yours yet,”

“After what I saw it did to Phili, I kind of…hesitated,” Lucas says, “Then Jack attacked,”

“Why you callin’ him by his first name?” Zoe says, “He’s our father!”

“He ain’t our father anymore,” Lucas says, “He’s…he’s a monster. So was Marguerite, so I…I…”

“You what?” Zoe says, “You killed her,”

“I put her out of her misery,” Lucas mutters.

The boat goes silent, except for the sound of the moater. I lean further into Lucas, being as comfortable as I can. He rests his right hand on my hip, and then wraps both arms around me, hugging me close to him. I pull up the hood of my sweatshirt, and close my eyes and drift off, but I could have slept with my eyes open. For the first time in years, I dream. It’s just a bunch of weird clips of memories. But then, I’m in a field, sitting on a red and white checkered blanket. A radio plays jazz music, like what you’d hear on the streets of my hometown. I look around to see some of my favorite foods. “This isn’t real,” I mutter to myself.

“‘Course it ain’t, hun,” Marguerite’s voice says.

I jump slightly, and look to see the kind woman I met on my first night at her house. This makes me relax slightly.

“For starters, I’m dead,” she says, like it was normal to be dead, “Watermelon?”

“Is that what I am?” I ask, accepting some of my favorite fruit, “Dead, I mean,”

“No,” she answers, “but you’re very well close to it,”

I nod, and take a bite of the mellon. It’s sweet and refreshing, like nothing I’ve tasted in years. “So,” I say, “Jack’s not dead then,”

“He’ll join us soon,” Marguerite answers, “I have no doubt about that,”

I nod and take another bite of watermelon.

“I’m sorry for everything I had done,” Marguerite says after a bit.

“It wasn’t you,” I reassure her, “You were taken over by Evie,”

She smiles at me, but it’s a sad kind of smile. “How can you do that?” she asks, “Make it seem like people who are at fault aren’t guilty,”

“I don’t know,” I say, “I guess it’s just the way I look at the world,”

“And how’s that?”

“‘Friend until proven enemy’,” I say.

She chuckles.

“Like ‘innocent until proven guilty’,” she says.

“Exactly,” I reply.

Suddenly, everything twists, blurs, and turns black. I find myself in my usual dark, dreamless sleep.


	9. One Week Later...

(Lucas' POV)

“Where’s Zoe?” Uncle Joe asks, looking out the window.

I look up from what I was doing, which was putting a wet rag on Phili’s forehead. She’s been unconscious for the past three days, and her fever keeps getting worse. “I don’t know,” I say, taking out the hand-held radio I had made out of old things I found. I switch it on, and turn it to the frequency that Umbrella soldiers usually use.

“…found in the woods, unconscious,” says one soldier. “Bring her back to the house, so we can administer proper care,” another says.

“Zoe!” I exclaim.

“What?” Uncle Joe says, “Where is she?”

“Umbrella has her,” I say, “but they’re going to take care of her,”

“Bullshit,” Joe says, “they’s the ones who started this,”

“No, they weren’t,” I protest, but he’s already slamming the front door shut. I stand up and walk outside. “I’m comin’ with you!” I call after him.

“You’ve got to look after that girlfriend of yours,” He calls back, “Take her to them, if you’re so sure of them wanting to help. I’m going to see ‘bout something,”

“But…” I start.

He turns around to look at me. “If all goes well,” he says, “I’ll see you back at the house,”

I nod, and watch him disappear into the bayou. I turn around, but instead of going back inside, I just…stand there, staring at the bayou surrounding Uncle Joe’s house.  _ What am I doing? _ I ask myself,  _ I barely know this woman.  _ I kick a rock near my foot, shoving my hands in the pockets of my sweatshirt.  _ I know that I relate to her, but… _ I sigh,  _ she risked everything for me and my family. How couldn’t I feel for her?  _ I start to slowly walk to the house, when I hear Phili coughing.

“Lucas?” she says through her coughs, “Joe? Anyone there?” She sounds almost panicked.

I open the door, and walk over to her.

She’s sitting up on the couch, looking around, but seeing nothing. She glances my way, and I unintentionally flinch, seeing her eyes as white and dull as egg-shells.

_ How could Evie do such a thing? _ I think to myself. “I’m right here, Phili,” I say, grabbing her shoulder, “And Joe went…somewhere,”

She nods.

“But, I’ve got a plan,” I say, pulling her off of the couch, and having her step into a pair of Zoe’s old rain-boots that are still here.  _ And I hope to God that it’ll work,  _ I think to myself,  _ Or I’m gonna’ hurt someone, _

“What’s your plan?” Phili asks.

“We’re going back to the house,” I say, “since Umbrella is there,”

Phili smiles. “So,” she says, “Ethan made it out,”

I chuckle, and have her lean against me, so it’s easier for her to walk. I hold a shotgun with the other, and walk in the direction of the house, using boardwalks and piers that Joe and Pa made over the years. I only have to use the shotgun a few times, since there are still some straggling Molded. 

Phili keeps getting worse. She coughs up phlegm every five minutes, and she can barely move her legs to walk.

_ Mom, please if you’re listening, tell God that you want him to let us get to the house in time,  _ is what I keep repeating in my head. Apparently, she  _ was _ listening, because we get to the house faster than I expected. “We’re here, Phili,” I mutter, “Just need to find some people to help us,”

She nods, and coughs weakly.

I walk up to the tent in front of my house, which is now covered in plastic, like they tried to shrink-wrap it. “Hello?” I call, “Hello?! I need help!”

A soldier walks out from behind the tent, and aims his gun at us. I put up one of my hands in surrender. I lightly lay Phili on the ground, and put both of my hands up. She lays on the ground, unconscious. My chest starts to hurt with worry. If they don’t help, I’m going to kill everyone if she dies. “I…I just need help,” I say, both hands raised, sounding like a little kid.

The soldier doesn’t lower his gun. He’s wearing a helmet, so I can’t see his face, or if it even is a “he”.

“Lower your weapon,” a voice says, and a man walks out of the tent.

The first soldier hesitates, then lowes the gun, but doesn’t walk away.

A man with short, brown hair walks out from the tent. He’s wearing Umbrella Uniform, and seems like he’s very important here. “Bring her here,” he says.

I start to move, but my instincts tell me otherwise.

“Are you deaf?” he says, “Bring her here, or she’ll die in…” he looks at his watch, glances at her, and looks back at me, “ten minutes,”

I kneel down, grab Phili, and walk up to him.

“You’re Lucas, right?” he says, turning sideways slightly to let me pass, “And that’s Ophilia?”

I nod. I can’t seem to make myself speak. As I enter the tent, I see three very familiar people.

Uncle Joe is sitting on a cot all the way to the left of the tent. I nod at him, and he nods back.

Zoe is laying on her side on a cot on the exact opposite of side of the tent from the door. She looks like she’s asleep, and her hair is much lighter than it had been. I’m just glad to see she’s okay.

And standing on the right side of the tent, in front of a table covered with different papers and maps is, surprisingly…Ethan. He looks from me to Phili, then just turns away, an ashamed look on his face.

“My name is Chris. Chris Redfield,” the soldier says, “And I think you know most of the other people in this tent,”

I nod, and he leads me over to a cot, so I can set Phili down. I lay her on her back, and adjust her so she’s comfortable.

Redfield walks up behind me, and puts a chair behind me. I sit down almost instantly, and bury my face in my hands, elbows resting on my knees. I can’t look at the world right now. This  _ has  _ to be fake. I’m going to remove my hands from my face, and the world will be right. I peek through my fingers, but everything is the same as it was. Tears sting my eyes, and I just sit here, wondering what Phili and I are going to do next. We can’t possibly have a normal life now.

“Are you okay, Lucas?” I hear my uncle say from across the room.

I look at him, and he’s standing up. He walks over to me, and places his hand on my shoulder. “W-where’s…” I croak, “where’s…Pa?”

Uncle Joe’s face falls. He takes his hand off of my shoulder, and rubs his left fist with his right hand. “He…he’s in a better place now,” he mutters.

I nod, solemnly.

“Well,” I hear Zoe say from behind us, “at least Mama’s not alone,”

I stand up, and turn to my sister.

She looks much more thin than I had seen her. The bags under her eyes make her look ten years older, and I’m sure I don’t look much better.

Looking from her, to Joe, to Phili, to Ethan, then finally to my own reflection in a mirror across the tent, I realize that it’s…over. The nightmare…it’s over.

“Evie’s…gone,” I say out loud, smiling slightly.

“Yeah,” Redfield says, “Ethan saw to that,”

“Then, thank you, Ethan,” I say, looking at the back of his head, “And…it’s not your fault,”

Ethan turns to look at me, a confused look on his face. “But…” he starts.

“ _ It’s not your fault, _ ” I repeat, sternly.

He nods and smiles slightly.

“Where’s Mia?” I ask.

“She’s back at the main Umbrella base,” Ethan says, “getting help. Evie messed her up, bad,”

I nod, and look back at Phili. Fear rises in my chest. “What about Phili?” I ask, “and me?”

“We’ll give you treatment here,” Redfield says, “And since Ophelia needs help now, we should probably have her taken to the med tent,”

He then pokes his head out of the tent, and when he gets back, there are a doctor and four nurses behind him.

The doctor goes over to one end of the cot, one of the nurses at the other. They simultaneously fold out the legs on each sides, so it’s more of a stretcher. The other nurse had grabbed some water and a rag, and started to wipe off Phili’s forehead.

I start to follow them, but Redfield holds me back.

“You need your own treatment,” he says, and gestures to an empty cot.

I sit on the edge, and another nurse walks up to me. The other had momentarily left the tent, but is now back, holding a metal tray.

“Could you please remove your jacket?” the first nurse says to me in a very kind voice.

She’s very pale, and has dark brown hair. Her hair is pulled into a very wispy bun, and her eyes are a dark blue, lines outlining her eyes, maybe from smiles, maybe from worry. She reminds me of a picture I had seen once of Mama, when she was younger.

I nod, and take my hoodie off.

She holds out her hands, and I hand it to her.

I look down at myself. My T-shirt and tan pants are filthy, covered in dirt, blood, and god knows what else.

The other nurse walks up to me, and pulls over a stool.

She’s younger than the first nurse, hair an ugly bleach blonde pulled into a tight ponytail, wearing bright red lipstick. She reminds me of a cross between a Barbie doll and a 50s pin-up.

She crinkles her nose slightly as she pulls my shirt-sleeve up and swabbs my arm with a moist wipe. She then takes out a disposable syringe, and, silently, pokes it into my shoulder.

I stare at her the entire time, her occasionally glancing at me. She puts a band-aid on the place she gave me a shot, and she then puts two pills next to a glass of water.

“Take the small pill first, wait five minutes, and then take the larger,” she says, and then she stands up and walks away.

The first nurse sits down where the Barbie was. She’s holding a clipboard, and is looks at me, almost curious, almost worried.

“I advise you take the first pill,” she says to me, “as soon as you do, I’ll start a timer. If something happens in the five minutes between the first and the second pill, you won’t take the second pill. If nothing happens, you will take the second pill, and I’ll bring you some fresh clothes,”

She smiles at me, but more of a smile to try to comfort me.

I nod again. I grab the smaller pill with one hand, and grab the water with the other. I put the pill in my mouth, take a sip of water, and swallow them both.

I slightly smile at the nurse, and she nods, smiling back.

“Now,” she says, pressing something, “We can talk for five minutes. You’re Lucas Baker, correct?”

I nod.

“Well, you can just call me Nurse Tilly,” she smiles, “How did Ophelia lose her sight?”

I lower my head slightly, my jaw trembling.

“Evie,” I whisper.

Nurse Tilly cocks her head to the side slightly, and nods.

“You don’t feel like talking much, I understand,” she says, “but it’s just to pass the time. Now, what happened to her that made her so ill?”

“The suppressants,” I mutter, “from The Connections. They’re what kept us from being as messed up as Mia, Ma, and Pa,”

“But they also harmed her?” she asks.

“Only after Evie changed her eyes,” I say, “then…it was too late,”

The nurse nods, and she writes something on her clipboard.

“Have you taken any of those suppressants recently?” she asks.

I shake my head no.

She nods, and writes something else on the clipboard.

“We know what happened to Jack,” she says, “but what happened to Marguerite?”

I hang my head again.

“We…we killed her,” I say, ”…Ethan and I…but she was more Molded than human,”

Nurse Tilly nods again, writes something else, and puts he clipboard down.

“Umbrella will make sure that you and Ophelia will be protected,” she says, “you can take the second pill now,”

I nod, and grab the pill and water. I take the pill, and then finish the glass of water.

Nurse Tilly walks over to one side of the tent, grabs a stack of clothing, and hands it to me. She directs me to a small, portable bathroom tent, where I change into the white t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and fresh boxers.

I walk back to the first tent barefoot, and sit down on my cot.

Nurse Tilly takes my hoodie.

“I’ll let you get some sleep now,” Nurse Tilly says, “I’ll come back tomorrow morning to tell you how Ophelia is, and I’ll get you’re hoodie washed and decontaminated, so you can wear it again,”

I nod, and she leaves. I lay on my side, face towards the wall, and close my eyes. I slowly fade into the darkness of sleep, trying to keep images of the last three years out of my mind.

“ _ Lucas...Lucas...Lucas! _ ” someone says, lightly slapping my face.

I open my eyes, blinking rapidly, and I sit up.

“What do you want?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.

The person sighs, and hugs me.

I open my eyes fully, and look around at my surroundings. I’m sitting in my living room, my Mom smiling at me from in front of the TV, Pa sitting in the armchair with tears in his eyes, and someone hugging me. I look at the person, and I find that it’s Ophelia. Tears well up in my eyes, and I hug her back.

“Oh my God,” I mutter, “I missed you,”

“I missed you too,” she says, letting me go and sitting back. She still looks thin, but her eyes…they look normal. I almost forgot that she had blue eyes, so brilliant that they almost look violet. Ophelia places her hand on my face, looking sad but happy at the same time.

“I almost forgot what you looked like,” she says, tears in her eyes.

I hug her again, but just a quick hug. I then stand up, and walk over to my Mom. 

She looks so normal, like the woman who raised me. She puts her hands to her mouth, tears in her eyes.

I put my hands on her shoulders, and she starts to cry. I hug her, and I start to cry as well. “I’m so sorry,” I say, “I…there…there was…there was no other way…”

“I understand,” she says.

I lean back and look her in the eyes. I place a hand on her cheek, and wipe a tear trying to escape from her eye.

She smiles at me.

I smile back, and I turn to my father. He stands up, and stands in front of me. I walk over to him, and place a hand on his shoulder.

He does the same to me, and we just stand there, staring at each other. He looks like he’s trying his best not to cry, but tears escape his eyes, regardless. “It’s so good to see you, Lucas,” he says, quietly.

“It’s good to see you too, Pa,” I say, “But, I guess this will be the last time, huh?”

He nods. “We can’t stay for long,” he says, “Just long enough for us to say our goodbyes,”

I nod, walking back over to Phili. I grab her around the waist, and hug her close to me. I place my chin on her head, and I close my eyes. “I was so worried, Phili. I thought I lost you,”

She presses her face into my chest, and hugs me back. “I would never go down without a fight, Lucas, you know that,”

I smile, and everything fades into a flat dark. I open my eyes, seeing sunlight filtering through the canvas walls of the tent. I’m awake, and Phili is nowhere near, but it still feels like I’m hugging her. I can feel tears well up in my eyes, and I just lay on my cot, staring at the wall. I don’t want to talk at anyone today. Not if it’s not Phili.


End file.
